Creative use of a rope helped firefighters pull a large deer out of a Saanich apartment building’s pond on Friday morning.
Saanich firefighters were called to the Fraser Tolmie Apartments along Cedar Hill Cross Road around 11 a.m. for a report of the stuck deer.
Building manager Dave Wettlaufer says deer often visit the property, but this is the first time one has become trapped in the pond.
“This is a place where deer come to sit and relax and enjoy the grass,” he said. “We have an apple tree that they enjoy as well… It’s a little sanctuary for them.”
The pond is about 1.2 metres (four feet) deep and is covered in a rubber membrane.
Firefighters said the deer was trying to climb out, but kept slipping against the sides.
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Dave Wettlaufer
“So we got a rope and kind of helped him out there and helped him get himself out,” said Saanich Fire Chief Captain Corey Hanley.
He says the rope was tossed behind its antlers, but wasn’t tied into an actual lasso so that it could run as soon as it out was out of the pond, without being tangled in the rope.
Wettlaufer estimates the deer was 350 to 400 pounds.
“It’s a big deer. It’s a big eight point buck to all the people out there that are familiar with that, it’s a big point,” he said.
The deer initially bolted as soon as it was out of the pond, according to Wettlaufer. However, it returned to the apartment grounds and was sitting on the lawn later Friday.
It hadn’t moved by Friday afternoon, and the building manager says he’s keeping an eye on it so it doesn’t surprise pets, or vice versa, in the area.
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The deer is pictured after being freed from the pond. (CHEK News)
Adam Chan
